


Ekpyrosis

by IvoryCrow



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crybaby-verse, F/F, Gen, M/M, Slight character analysis, The Complicated Reality of Love, Themes of Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-28 21:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14458089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvoryCrow/pseuds/IvoryCrow
Summary: It's not that Akira doesn't understand Ryo, he simply doesn’t recognize the starving desire in his best friend’s eyes. Miko does, all too well, since she sees it in the mirror everyday.(But it's Ryo who doesn't understand Akira.)In a pocket of time, between alcohol and inevitable death, Miko experiences a moment of clarity.





	Ekpyrosis

**Author's Note:**

> **Ekpyrosis** (/ˌɛkpɪˈroʊsɪs/; Ancient Greek: ἐκπύρωσις ekpyrōsis, "conflagration") is a Stoic belief in the periodic destruction of the cosmos by a great conflagration every Great Year. The cosmos is then recreated only to be destroyed again at the end of the new cycle.

Miko finds herself watching the way Ryo’s eyes follow Akira and it’s more reminiscent of a wolf stalking his prey. A look that Miko herself has found on her own face when she watches Miki bend down for her stretches, her thighs tight and shorts rising higher.

A look that says _I will eat you whole._

And Akira, with the honest smiles and tear-prone eyes, is none the wiser. Even with the new playboy looks and hard muscles, he is still the same Akira. The boy who's too soft and gazes at Miki like she hangs the fucking stars, as if she was some sort of saint.  She sees the appeal in the overwhelming empathy, especially in people like Ryo and herself. 

Ryo catches her stare but he doesn’t smile. She wonders if he knows how to, or at least how to smile at anyone who isn’t Akira. He loves him, that much is obvious. It’s written across his face, on every longing look and reaching touch. He loves him like the ocean loves the shore. Violent and consuming, eroding slowly at all that Akira has to offer. She wonders if it will end just as tragically.

Miko has spent just as long treading the line of love and hate. She leers at the short dress Miki's wearing before the short-haired girl turns to her, with her strawberry martini half-empty, and Miko can only smile wide. Her own demon brims under her skin, craving to feel more than Miki can offer.

“Akira and I are going to head home, I’m already pretty sleepy.” She pouts and the hand that lands on her bare shoulder is hot to the touch. Her lips spread into a smile, “Bye Ryo!”

Miko wants to bite at that mouth and see if she tastes as pink as her drink.

Ryo doesn't react but Akira grabs his hand anyways, like he always does when he thinks they aren't looking, and squeezes. “Bye Ryo,” He’s smiling, half-buzzed, and his voice is low enough for her to know it’s for no one else to hear. His own devil seems to be vibrating under his skin, but she isn't worried. Even if it wants Miki, Akira’s heart pulls at a different direction. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

When the two leave, Miki and Ryo throw back shots, throats burning, until she’s numb on the inside and Ryo’s face finally pinches into something other than distaste. 

Akira is a fool, she thinks, for loving too much. Miki loves him and he loves her. Like two souls who intertwined dreams and aspirations so tightly, that there is almost no room for anyone else. She can never tell where Miki ends and Akira begins. But he makes room for Ryo, for Miko. He loves her too, in a farther sense, maybe because it’s Miki who loves her. Miko kind-of loves him back, for better or worse. And Miki loves Ryo because he carries Akira’s heart in the palm of his hands. They're four pieces of a puzzle trying to fit together when only two pieces match perfectly at a time. 

But it’s not enough for Ryo, or for Miko herself. They’re selfish children. Ryo wants to possess Akira fully, make him his alone, and Miko wants Miki to only look at her. She wants to fall upon her knees at the altar of love that Miki offers and worship until she's the only holy thing Miko knows.

Miko wonders if Ryo has his own demon under his facade, a demon who wants so badly to scratch the itch that curls the sneer on his face. “You don’t call me Miko.” She looks at the empty shot glasses between them. He doesn’t look at her.

“Is Miki not your name?” He doesn’t even sound a bit buzzed and it pisses her off.

“It is,” She squints for a second, trying to find the words that might explain it best. “I used to be pissed about it too. Then I realized that it doesn't change the fact that I'm me or shes her. A name doesn't change who you are right here.” She taps her chest and takes another shot. “Do you understand?”

“No.”

In another life, she would grab him by the shoulders and shake him. She would claw at him face until she pierces the emotionless veil. She might even try to convince Akira that he isn't worth it. The importance of understanding this fails to sway him. He's a human-shaped disaster and she wants to yell, you're going to fuck it up again.

“He can’t be solely yours,” She says instead, the alcohol overwhelming her nerves, “He can give you his heart - but he can’t give you everything else.”

This time he does look at her and his glare reminds her of those poems that talk about a tundra-like hell. His hiss scrapes at the back of her head like a warning, "Why doesn't he ever choose me?"

“He loves you.” Miko sighs, “But he loves us too.”

As much as she wants to pray, it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. Miko knows Ryo will destroy Akira. He will tear out his heart and swallow it without a second thought. He will break his legs, his arms, his spirit. He will take everything Akira gives him and return nothing. In his pillage of monopolizing Akira, he will burn the world to the ground and Akira will not be the only one who suffers. 

Because Ryo is the real fool.

He still doesn’t _understand_.

"I guess that's the difference between us," Miko confesses, suddenly very tired. "I'd give anything for her to be mine but you would just take everything from him instead."  

 

**Author's Note:**

> This anime messed me up.


End file.
